I'd like to take a moment to talk about the books I keep on the shelf in my office. These books have never made it to a real bookshelf, they've always been close to where I work. Hardly used, they still hold significance.

1. The reddish binder - this is my novel. First draft completed a long time ago with just a few edits in the margins. It needs a complete rewrite and someday I will accomplish that feat. Everyone has a novel in their heads - an idea they think the world would want to read...

Being an active writer is about practice. Writing is a skill you have to work at to perfect. You must be prepared to muddle through many drafts of a single piece and realize that a first draft is never perfect as is. Writing also requires an understanding of style. As a freelance content creator, I’m often called upon to write for different audiences in different tones. In creative writing, understanding style can help you put substance into a story that simply sets the stage. While you can...

Technically, I’ve completed my single-item bucket list. I’ve written at least one complete story, taken characters on a journey from beginning to end. My first “book” began coming to life when I was in college. It’s about being in college (shockingly) and what it means to find optimism at that stage of life. It’s a great story, but it’s not done. It’s still in the “shitty first draft” phase Anne Lamont talks about in Bird by Bird. The voice is wrong and I’m just realizing that the story...

The pandemic changed a lot about everyone’s day-to-day. Working from home was a big shift for many, and it easily meant more hours answering emails and getting projects done.

As someone who’s worked from home in one capacity or another for the last eight years, spending more time at home hasn’t been that much of a disruption to my schedule. In fact, being able to devote less time running around even created more time for me to get work done.

This has had an unforeseen, positive side...